Line Jumper Hero

I hate line jumpers. If you are one, shame on you! I especially detest them during road construction. The ‘good’ people obey the construction signs and merge into the proper lane. The line jumpers continue driving in the lane which will soon end. Then they merge ahead of all those patiently waiting cars. And since those people are ‘good,’ they let the jumpers merge.

There is expressway construction on the way home from my Sunday Panera Writers’ Prison. One lane of a bridge is closed, so both sides of the expressway converge on the other side of the bridge, one lane each. Last week I burned with rage as the line jumpers raced to the head of the line of traffic. I wished I could stop them. I’ve seen semi trucks move into the middle of the road to prevent jumpers, but on this day nobody did. I wanted to do it myself, but couldn’t find the courage.

Yesterday I made the commute again. And again I watched the line jumpers with growing rage, wanting to stop them. Two cars in front of me a small car pulled out of line into the left-hand lane, where the jumpers were racing by. It moved up beside a pickup pulling a horse trailer. I thought it was another jumper preparing to pass. Jumpers lined up behind the small car.

But the small car didn’t move. It stayed beside the horse trailer. I blinked and sat up straighter in my seat. No, it couldn’t be. But it was. Small Car rode in that lane the last 1.5 miles to the bridge construction. One giant SUV jumper drove out onto the grass median to pass it. The bastard. But the rest of the line jumpers bottlenecked behind Small Car. And my line of cars moved more smoothly to the construction zone.

I cheered. I wanted to give Small Car the thumbs up. I wanted to dance for joy. I wanted to kiss the driver. People CAN make a difference if they stand up for what they believe is right. They CAN stop other people from taking advantage of those who do the right thing. Each of us can stop line jumpers if we take a stand and let them know we’re finished with their impatience and their arrogance. They can wait in line like the rest of us.